From the table to a bigger scale

What would happen if someone took a table-top game and turned it into a life-sized adventure?

Those who attend RVTV on Monday night in downtown Webster City, will have an opportunity to find out as the Missionary Alliance Church unveils its human foosball game.

Leah Feltz, who’s helping to organize the event, said she’s never tried the game, but is excited to help bring it to Webster City.

“This is a first for me. There’s all sorts of ways that people have done this if you look it up online,” she said. There are many YouTube videos of groups playing human foosball all over the U.S.

Feltz said she sought help from her church and its members to help with the costs associated with building the massive playing field. Her proposal was readily accepted by the church members who have also agreed to help build, assemble and operate the game.

“My husband works for a construction company and they’re working with some of the guys from church to build it,” she said. “It should look like a bird’s eye view of a foosball table.”

The plans call for a soccer ball and two teams of six people each – a goalie, a row of two and a row of three. Just like in the table version of the game, players will only be able to move from side to side to intercept or kick the ball. Participants will hold on to a crossbar and will have to remember to keep their hands on the bar at all times.

“They’ll have to work together as a team, back and forth, to move the ball around,” she said. Players don’t need any particular special abilities, according to Feltz. There may even be a penalty for those who don’t keep their hands on the crossbar, she added.

The builders will be putting the game together later this week to test it out before it’s official unveiling at the RVTV event Monday. The problem with a game that large, she said, was making it so it could be disassembled into easy pieces for moving or storage. She said the game will be put together at the corner of Willson Avenue and Second Street sometime Monday afternoon.

Teams have already started to register for the event, Feltz said. To register for human foosball game, visit www.visitwebstercityiowa.com, click on events and select RVTV. That page has prompts to direct players to the registration form. The cost is $5 per team. The tournament is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.